PRL Serials

Maxx smashes a fist through the face of a Daemon. He feels bones, maybe, some hard structure beneath the mound of flesh that compromised its being and it has surprisingly cool insides. His other hand is inundated with electromagnetic energy blasting from his palm as a beam of yellow that inundates a group of Daemon who mean him harm. He cannot free himself from the corpse of the Daemon on his wrist and he feels the weight of it on his arm, so he ignites the energy there and a yellow spark of energy sends shards of the Daemon flying and leaves his hand surrounded in the yellow energy. He flies to the group, punching into it when he is close and he is hit with many things that he can’t identify. He is surrounded, they have jumped on him, a desperate tactic that will not work against the Superguardian. Maxx is crushed beneath bodies and there is something sharp at his back, so he explodes, sending out a blast of his energy that clears his enemies in a circular radius. He has exhausted the Superconsciousness and he cannot risk another blast like that and still maintain his position on the asteroid. It will be a while before he can shoot blasts; Guardians are powered by their own biological function and even though they have a greater capacity for energy generation than the average blu, they still have limits, and Maxx realizes that many of the Guardians are battling without their halos.

They have been on the asteroid for hours, maybe, in the fury of this battle Maxx is unsure of many things and he can’t allow himself to be distracted from the business at hand. The Guardians are holding their own even as they conserve their firepower. The Daemon are not warriors and they use their abilities ineffectively for this particular battle that benefits the brawling Guardians.

“How are you doing, Rowen?” Maxx asks aloud as he assesses the chaos around him.

“Bludon is safe,” Rowen says telepathically. “I’m guiding it away. The planet will be safe. How are you all?”

“No Guardian has fallen and the same cannot be said for the Daemon.” Maxx pauses and his voice seems unsteady as he continues. “Does this end when every Daemon on this asteroid is dead? There are plenty attacking, but there are children here. I can feel them cowering, and I can feel their view of me and the Guardians. We are the monsters who arrived to stop their escape from a different persecution…” he trails off and pauses for a moment. “This isn’t right, Rowen. Do you hear me? This is not the logic of âmuk. I am experiencing empathy.”

“There is someone else in your mind,” Rowen says. “I should be able to take care of it while I maintain control of the asteroid.”

Rowen can split her consciousness, she can walk and chew gum as Earthers say, and she closes her eyes in the arms of Flexx who flies with her at a distance from the asteroid, and she scans the asteroid for the mental manipulation that seems to be influencing Maxx. She identifies the telepath who propels the asteroid and after overpowering that mind and disabling it, she has Flex fly her to the surface of the asteroid where they find Maxx, and Flexx joins the battle.

“There was no manipulation that I could identify,” Rowen says to Maxx, still scanning for other telepaths. Until she sees the slug that wraps the back of Maxx’s neck. Its body is thick and wet and as it pulsates, exotic colors swirl around its body. “Maxx do you feel that on your neck?”

“Feel what?” Maxx asks and the Queen uses her telekenesis to remove the slug and she shows it to Maxx whose attitude has readjusted. He blasts the slug in the air. “That’s better,” he says and goes back to battle.

“You raised a good question before,” Rowen says telepathically to Maxx. “Are you going to kill every Daemon on this asteroid? There are children, and even though there are hordes attacking, there is a great number among them who do not want violence. They are not all like Minyak. They do not all have the mind of monsters.”

Maxx mostly heard Rowen, but even speaking in his mind, it feels that she is a distant voice, overpowered by the urge to fight and kill, the call of âmuk.

Rowen sends a message to her security on Bludon. “Do not send any Guardians from Bludon to the asteroid. Maxx and his team have the situation well in hand and it will not impact the planet. Stand by for further instruction.”

Then she contacts Issac Washington telepathically, who is studying in an office on Fumarole.

“Do you think that you can subdue the Guardians?” She asks him. “I cannot calm them all when they go âmuk. I am sure that this situation is contained but they won’t stop fighting.”

“I could cast a sleeping spell,” As Rowen heard Issac say this in her mind, every body on the asteroid goes slack. “They should all be out for long enough to figure out why and how that planet advances on Bludon. Do you see it?”

It is very obvious once the chaos of the battle ceases and even though Rowen knows what it was, it is still a sight.

“The Mmoatia are approaching. You should join us here. I’m sure they have come to help, and you will want to know them.”

“He is waiting for you at the Two Rivers library,” Quy says to Coxx as they walk the street in front of the Tower Records building. “It is the Ministers’ monthly visit to civic locations around Bludon to interact with their constituents. He agreed to listen to you, but he is still no fan of the Guardians.”

“What is his opinion of you?” Coxx asks as they stop at an intersection. There are many pedestrians crossing both ways.

“He says I’m one of the good ones,” Quy says. “Forever loyal to Bludon, which is true but I really don’t like the way he said it. Have you all thought about what I said to Saadiq? Guardians shouldn’t get themselves involved in the gang struggles.”

“I could say the same for Ministers,” Coxx says before he crosses the street, leaving Quy on the corner. She smiles a knowing smile.

The ground floor of the library is busy with blues, mostly parents with their young enjoying the special exhibitions and activities organized for the Ministers’ visit. Soon after Coxx enters, he sees Minister Penyu with a group of young Blues and he makes his way over. Penyu is finishing the story about the first blues elected as Ministers and when he sees Coxx, he makes a signal with his hand that is meant for the automaton at his shoulder. It looks like an armored T model and is very much out of place in the library. Penyu wraps up his story and as the crowd disperses, he makes his way over to Coxx with the T model close behind him.

“Minister Quy told me I should expect you,” Penyu saye. He is old and it shows in the wrinkles of his brown-green skin. The freckles on his temples are prominent as well and he squints his eyes behind a delicate looking pair of glasses. “Walk with me.”

Coxx walks at the Minister’s left shoulder and the T model moves silently at his right side as they take the ramp up to the second floor where there is less of a crowd and less noise.

“Have you come to tell me that the Guardians are sorry for their treachery against the blues of Bludon and are ready to return to the duties they were designed to execute? I will accept the apology on behalf of Bludonians everywhere, but I am afraid we Ministers have not neglected our duties to Bludon and we have designed your replacement. The autonomous Guardians are the best protectors Bludon has ever seen.”

“I first want to thank you for agreeing to speak with me,” Coxx says evenly, refusing to respond with anger, which the Minister seems eager to provoke. “As you know, since my faction of Guardians have obtained our freedom from conscription, we have worked for Beku of Tower Records.”

“Otherwise known as the Ur Gang,” Penyu interjected with a chuckle.

“We operate a legal security detail for the owner of Tower Records and her employees,” Coxx continues. “I’m sure you are aware of the attempt on her life.”

“Violence follows perpetrators of violence,” Penyu says. “Beku and Tower Records has a reputation for a reason. Frankly, it is an embarrassment that the creations of the Ministers are now bodyguards for criminals.”

“Your feelings about the actions of my faction of Guardians is noted, Minister. But I wonder if you are aware of any Ministers engaged in association with the criminal organizations of Bludon. I do not believe Beku and Tower Records to be a criminal organization, but I will bring your accusations to my employer for her consideration. I have heard that the Ortue Sisters, a notorious criminal organization responsible for slavery, organ harvesting, and murder, have plants within the Ministers Hall.”

The old blu stops walking and he has a look of legitimate disgust on his face.

“Are you accusing the Ministers of corruption?” Penyu asks indignantly.

“I asked to speak with you specifically to avoid unfounded accusations,” Coxx says. He stares at the automaton just over the minister’s shoulder, wondering if it would attack because of the Minister’s change in mood. When he looks at Penyu, he is horrified by the change in him. The wrinkles in his face are filled with oily black, and the freckles on his face are oily black circles.

“Coxx, you must understand that the Ministers are above reproach,” Penyu says and his smile is sinister. “What we do is the will of the people, everything for their protection.”

“You stink of Daemon, Minister,” Coxx says. He is alarmed but it does not show. He stands as stoically as the automaton and his face is angry.

“It turns out that we have had it wrong this whole time,” Penyu says, his smile black like his saliva had turned to oil. “The Daemon were our friends all along, they only want to share this paradise with us. But we built you Guardians to protect us and now you have turned on the people and become the weapons of criminals. The automatons will protect the average blu, they will destroy every rogue guardian on Bludon and the Daemon will help us realize our beautiful future. The Ministers have not been infiltrated by the Ortue, the Ortue organization has been enlightened. We all work toward the same goal now, and that is acceptance of the Daemon Minyak as the ruler of Bludon. No matter what the Supeguardian does to the colony on the asteroid, or the form of Minyak doing battle with his allies, Minyak will take his place as the Head and Ruler of this paradise. Your days are numbered.”

Coxx watches the oily black recede into the Minister’s skin and before long he looks like himself, but still grinning.

“Resistance will be eliminated,” Penyu says. “Your allies will reject you soon enough. You cannot protect them.”

Coxx watches the Minister and his automaton walk away and he is swarmed by young blues who are excited to see him. Coxx is alarmed. He has never seen Minyak possess a blu as the Minister is possessed. The Minister is not a mindless monster and can hide proof of his contamination. Coxx wonders how many blues have been infected by Minyak and he leaves Two Rivers for Fumarole.